For Father’s Day this year we had a nice casual brunch at Ben’s parents’ house.  Brunch is their specialty for sure!  My father-in-law makes fabulous omelettes and waffles and we always look forward to them.  I decided to bring this peach coffee cake since I have been wanting to try it for a really long time.  It turned out wonderfully and the peaches were fantastic.  My only gripe is that the cake was undercooked in the middle, even though it passed the toothpick test.  Next time I’ll err on the safe side and bake it 5-10 minutes longer, as I’ve had this same problem with other coffee cakes I’ve made in springform pans. 

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

For the streusel:

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 tbsp. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the cake:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 egg

4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

½ cup milk

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2-3 firm, ripe peaches, 1 lb. total, peeled and sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease and flour a 9-inch round springform pan.

To make the streusel, in a bowl, stir together the flour, brown and granulated sugars and cinnamon.  Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form.  Set aside.

To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a wire whisk, beat the egg, melted butter, milk, vanilla and almond extract until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add to the flour mixture and beat just until evenly moistened.  There should be no lumps or dry spots.  Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Arrange the peach slices in concentric circles from the pan sides to the center.  Gently press the slices into the batter.  Sprinkle evenly with the streusel.

Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40-45 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes.  Remove the sides of the springform pan.  Serve the cake warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Source: adapted from Williams Sonoma